Take a Hike
by ohmicaiah
Summary: Ed has to take Riza's place on a camping trip with Roy. Oh, what fun nature can be... RoyEd
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** For all of you who are reading Sharpest Lives, I'm really sorry for putting that on hiatus. But I have absolutely not motivation to work on it and I kinda got stuck. I know what I wanna do, it's just a matter of getting there. So here I am writing my first RoyEd story instead. Inspired by a hike with the Ed to my Roy along with a few other friends of mine, haha.

--

It started with a chair.

"It's not my damn fault!" Edward insisted, "You dodged!"

"And what was I supposed to do, sit there and get hit?" Roy asked.

"Of course!"

Riza sighed as she stared at the wreckage of what used to be her favorite chair. The floor had engulfed it and crushed it before returning back to normal, apparently swallowing a few pieces with it. Why Mustang had been in her chair, she had no idea, but she was getting both of them back for it. They'd never buy her a chair, she'd have to buy one herself. To get one that good would be so expensive that she'd have to work all next week...

Meaning she couldn't go with Roy.

"Colonel Mustang, sir," she said, turning and saluting her superior.

The two stopped fighting and turned to look at her.

Riza let her arm drop. "Due to this catastrophe, I can't accompany you on our camping trip next week. I'll have to work to get a new chair."

"Very well then, Lieutenant," Roy said, turning to face her more fully, "I guess I'll be camping on my own then."

"No, sir," she replied, "You can take Fullmetal with you."

Ed's jaw dropped. "No way!"

"Major Elric, I don't trust the Colonel out there on his own. And you owe me for that chair, the least you can do is spend a few days with him in the woods."

The blonde turned his head away and pouted. She had made a strong point, but there was no way he was going.

"Better start packing, Fullmetal, we leave the day after tomorrow," Roy said with a smirk, then pushing the blonde alchemist out of the room and shutting the door.

"What?! Colonel Bastard!" He banged on the door, but got no response after a few moments of this. He grunted in frustration, turning and marching away to his room.

--

"Brother, what happened?"

Edward kicked his bed with his automail leg to let out some frustration before sitting on it. He crossed his legs, propping his elbow on his knee and resting his chin in his hand as he stared at the suit of armor sitting across from him. "I broke Riza's chair and now I have to go camping with that bastard Mustang," he grumbled.

"Ooh, can I come?!" Alphonse asked, excited.

"It's bad enough I'm going, I don't want you to suffer, too," he explained, brushing his bangs back from his face before pulling his gloves off and throwing them on his nightstand. "Besides, I don't have a tent, and I doubt Colonel Bastard's tent is big enough for the three of us."

"Aw, but it sounds like so much fun!" Though his disappointment couldn't be expressed on his metal face, it was obvious in his voice.

"I'm sorry, Al," his brother said as he pulled his boots off. "How about we go camping ourselves next chance we get?"

"All right..." His disappointment hadn't completely faded, but it had diminished at the idea of going out camping with his brother.

Ed stood from his bed, then retrieved his suitcase from the closet. "What do I even pack? I haven't been camping since we were little, and it was only in the backyard then..."

"Ummm..." Al thought for a few moments. "... Clothes, I guess."

"No, I'm gonna wander around naked," the elder Elric said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he started pulling out some clothes to pack.

"Maybe you'll need... Um..." The armor fell silent for a moment. "... Why don't you just ask the Colonel? He probably knows what you need to bring."

Edward scoffed. "You honestly think I'd go ask him for advice? I'll be talking to him enough while we're out in the woods with a tent and a mini bonfire singing 'Kum Ba Yah.'"

Al chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?!"

"I can't imagine you singing!"

He sighed and kicked the drawer he'd been going through closed, and shut his suitcase. A black pant leg was sticking out. "I'll be right back." He stood and went to the door, slipping out and then shutting it.

About ten minutes later, he knocked on the door to the Colonel's office. Loudly.

Riza opened it. She did a once over of Edward, from his socks with a hole that exposed his left big toe up to his hair, disheveled from digging through his clothing. "Yes, Fullmetal?"

"I came to see Mustang," he explained simply, walking past the First Lieutenant and to his superior's desk.

"Hm?" Roy asked, not turning away from the paperwork he was focused on.

"What the hell am I supposed to pack?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Yay, I like writing RoyEd. It makes me happy. So on to chapter two...

--

"Hey, you're gonna make sure Al doesn't get into too much trouble, right?" Edward asked the blonde woman in front of him.

"Of course," Riza assured him, patting him on the head. "You have fun now." She turned and walked away, humming to herself.

"She seems pleasant this morning," he mumbled before turning to his brother. "All right, Al, you sure you're gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine here," the armor said. A smile could be heard in his voice. "Try and have fun, okay, brother?"

Ed smirked. "Yeah, I'll try. Have fun yourself."

"Fullmetal, let's get going," Roy said as he shut the back door of his car. Everything had been loaded in and they were ready to go.

"Bye, Al. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too."

And with that, State Alchemist Edward Elric turned and climbed into the passenger seat of Colonel Roy Mustang's car, and a few moments later, they drove away.

--

"Just how far away is this place?" Ed asked. They'd been driving nearly a half hour now. The buildings of Central had fallen behind and all he saw was woods.

"Not too much farther," Roy answered. He turned onto a side road then, which led to a small parking area. There, he – obviously – parked.

"... This is it?" Ed asked, looking around at the few other cars there and the trees surrounding them. "This is stupid."

"Grab your stuff, let's start walking." The Colonel climbed out of the car and shut his door, then opened the back and started pulling out their supplies.

The blonde stared at him for a few moments. "We have to walk? In the woods?"

"What, you thought we'd drive all the way there? Through the trees?"

He grunted in response, climbing out of the passenger side and shutting the door. "That's what I was hoping for..."

"It's no fun unless there's work involved." Roy shoved Ed's suitcase into his hands, then threw him a sleeping bag. "All right, that's all there is." He shut the door.

After having dropped the sleeping bag, the blonde picked it up and held it – somewhat awkwardly – under his arm, his suitcase in his other hand. "Er, how long are we staying out here again?"

"A few days." He gathered up all the things that Ed wasn't carrying in a way that was comfortable for him and started toward one of the paths leading away from the parking area. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Um, no." He started following, looking around at the trees around them as they went. "Just wondering..."

The trek along the narrow path was horrible for Ed. Branches easily pushed aside by Roy whipped back at him, sometimes leaving scratches on his face or arms. He tripped multiple times on invisible roots, but somehow managed to keep from falling. It was nearly a half hour before Roy finally allowed them to stop.

"Doing okay, Fullmetal?" he asked, smirking as he looked at the exhausted teen that had been trailing behind him.

"Just peachy," he spat, glaring at the man as he dropped his suitcase to the ground. He sat heavily on top of it. "Are we done walking yet?"

"Yeah, we're done." Roy placed the items he'd been carrying on the ground, then sat on the ground in front of Ed. "You didn't absolutely have to come, y'know."

He shrugged. "I owed Riza, and Al said it'd be good for me to get out of Central..."

"Not if a frog kills you." The Colonel smirked and stood again. "C'mon, help me set up the tent."

"You mean I have to help?" A gold eyebrow raised itself questionably.

"Yep. You're sleeping in the tent, aren't you?"

Edward mumbled something incoherent as he slowly raised himself to his feet and trudged over to Mustang's side. "What do I do?"

Roy emptied the contents of the ten bag onto the ground. "Get the poles to stand up, lay the other pole across, then drape the tent fabric over. You can do that much while I get firewood, can't you?"

"Sure, piece of cake. I'll be done with time to spare before you get back."

"All right, then." The dark-haired man turned and walked into the trees.

Ed sighed and stared at the jumble on the forest floor. He picked up a pole. It was wooden, slightly taller than him, and had a 'y' shape on the end. He banged the other end against the dirt a few times, but it didn't make too much of a dent in the earth. His lower lip stuck out in frustration. This might take a while, and he'd have to get on his hands and knees.

So he did get on his hands and knees, and let go of the pole.

But, as was promised by his luck, the pole tipped in just the right direction and hit him square on the head.

"Augh! Dammit!"

The next few days would be long indeed.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** So I totally watched the last eleven episodes and the movie of Fullmetal Alchemist last night with my fellow RoyEd lover, DarkDannyHot, and now I wanna write more. So here goes!

--

Roy came back to find Edward tangled in the tent cloth and whacking the ground with one of the poles. "Need some help?" he asked, smirking at the sight as he dropped the pile of firewood in his arms into the center of the clearing.

"No, I got it," he muttered through gritted teeth, dropping the pole he held on the ground and beginning to untangle himself. He stood up to try and get his legs out, then let out a cry which was cut off when he hit the ground.

Mustang's smirk only grew as he approached the blonde. "Here, let me..."

It took close to five minutes to get the Fullmetal Alchemist untangled, and then ten more to get the tent set up. It probably would have been shorter if Ed hadn't been grumbling the entire time about attacking tents that wanted to eat him.

"See? That wasn't so hard." Roy patted Ed's head lightly.

He bit his lip against a smart remark, but his face flushed red with annoyance at the Colonel's gesture. "Yeah, sure..."

The Flame Alchemist chuckled softly as he moved to the pile of wood to start a fire.

"I'm going for a walk," Ed announced.

"Don't lose your way, stick to the trails," Roy called after him as he walked away.

"Yeah, yeah..." he muttered. "Trails... Pfff."

Rather than on the ground, following the trail, Edward's eyes were drawn to the sky. Through the green leaves, he could tell the sky was slightly darker. The sun was close to setting or had just set. Time had really flown by since this morning. Maybe a few days out in the wild would be good for him... Unless Colonel Bastard caused him to finally snap. Damn that man, that know-it-all, being better at everything...

He turned and punched a metal fist into the nearest tree, letting out a cry of frustration as he did so. It was a great ball of anger being poured into that punch, and the tree suffered for it. He let his arm drop to his side and took a deep breath, then sighed. He'd just have to live with that aggravating man for a few days. It was a vacation from work, he should try to enjoy it...

If he knew how to get back.

Looking around, he realized that there was no trail in sight, and the light was beginning to fade more quickly. The sun must have set. He wondered which direction he'd come from, or if Roy would begin to look for him. He frowned, turning in a slow circle as he tried to decide which way to go. "... This way looks good." He set off in a random direction.

He didn't know how long it was before he stopped and sat against a tree trunk. The light was nearly gone. He could see some stars through the canopy above him. Was Roy looking for him by now? Meh, the bastard probably didn't care. He was probably sleeping right now, totally happy that the Fullmetal Nuisance was gone. Edward smirked to himself. He could survive sleeping in the trees for a couple hours to rest and find his way back later to kick some Flame ass for leaving him out there. He closed his eyes and sighed. Yeah, rest sounded like a good idea...

--

"Geez, you're a lot heavier than you look..."

Edward grunted in response to this statement, his eyes not yet ready to open.

He felt a warm breath blow over the top of his head, some of his bangs moving into his eyes. He blew at them to move them away, then opened his eyes to make sure they were gone.

Ah, no wonder he was so warm. He was being carried, his head resting heavily against a white button-up shirt. He glanced up at Roy's face, which was dirty and even had a few scratches on it. He blinked. "What happened to you?" he wondered.

"I've been looking for you for hours," Roy said sternly, "I got worried when you didn't come back by dark."

"Geez, I didn't know I had a curfew..." Ed muttered.

"Never said you had one. I just got worried."

"Why the hell would you worry about me, Colonel Bastard?"

"Well, I have to return you home safely to your brother, don't I?"

He had a point, and a believable one at that. Ed fell silent and closed his eyes again.

"... Also, it gets pretty lonely camping by yourself. I like the company."

He opened one amber eye. "My company?"

"Especially yours."

He fell silent and closed his eye again. That was strange. Mustang hated him, didn't he?

After a few moments of silence, Roy asked, "Ed...?"

He feigned sleep, staying silent.

"Asleep," the Colonel muttered, trudging a bit more carefully through the trees now.

The man's warmth and steady breath soothed Edward's thoughts until he was barely thinking at all. He could sleep in the man's arms for a little while. Mustang would probably be too embarrassed to tell anyone back at Central. And he was so relaxed...

Roy smiled softly as he felt the blonde's breath slow, then even out. It felt so nice, finally having him in his arms. And maybe this wouldn't be the last time...


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** I liked the last chapter so much that I jumped right into the next. Here you go!

--

Edward woke up with a groan and a growling stomach. By getting himself lost the previous night, he'd missed out on dinner. He hadn't eaten since breakfast the previous day, and therefore he was starving.

"'Bout time you woke up," Roy said as the boy approached. He was sitting by the fire, over which a hunk of meat was cooking. "I'm sure you're hungry."

"Definitely," the Fullmetal said, sitting beside the raven-haired man. "What's on the menu?"

"Squirrel," he answered simply.

Edward stuck out his tongue in disgust, but his stomach growled again, and he frowned.

Roy chuckled as he took the meat from the fire. He ripped it in half and held out one half to Ed. "You'll need it."

He stared at it for a moment, then sighed and took it. "Fine," he muttered, taking a tentative bite. Though he'd expected it to be disgusting, It actually wasn't too bad. He took a larger bite next, and ate the rest quickly. "Hey, not bad, Colonel Bastard," he said, smirking at his superior.

"You don't have to call me that, we're on vacation," Roy pointed out.

"Calling you anything else is too weird, I'll stick with that." Ed stood and stretched, glad to have something in his belly. "So what're we doing today?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Going for a hike," he said, finishing up his breakfast. "Seeing as you got yourself lost so easily yesterday, there's a lot I have to teach you."

"Oh great, learning on vacation. I love it." The blonde rolled his eyes to accompany his sarcasm. "I just wasn't paying attention to the trail, that's all."

"Well, you need to learn how to get back on track in case it happens again."

He groaned. "Fine, I guess there's no getting out of it..."

--

"Colonel, how much longer are we gonna be out here?"

"Not too much longer," Roy assured him. They walked for just a few more moments before stopping. "All right, what direction is our camp in?"

"Um..." Ed looked around. He honestly had no clue, so he pointed in a random direction close to the direction they'd come from. "That way?"

Roy wrapped his hand around Ed's wrist, moving his arm to point in the opposite direction. "Try that way. You're not good at keeping track of your footsteps, are you?"

"I don't pay attention, I usually don't have to worry about it," he said, pulling his hand away and starting to walk in the direction Roy had pointed his hand in.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to cam-OOPH!" He hit the ground with a loud thud, his foot having gotten caught on an exposed root.

Roy sighed. "Damn, Fullmetal. You're really no good at this."

"Shut up," he muttered, pulling himself into a sitting position. He breathed in sharply when he unhooked his foot from the root. "Shit," he muttered.

"What'd you do?" Mustang asked,moving over to crouch in front of the boy, a small frown taking over his features.

"Hurt my ankle," he mumbled, gently touching it. No way was it broken, small chance of a sprain. Most likely just twisted. Even so, it would be hard to trudge through the woods like that.

Roy sighed. "Lemme have a look." He carefully rolled up Edward's pant leg, then removed his boot.

"Ah, careful!" he snapped.

"I'm trying," he assured him. He pulled off Ed's sock, then inspected the bare ankle, touching it gently and nodding whenever Ed made a noise of pain. "It's probably sprained, you shouldn't walk on it."

"So what do I do, just sit out here until it's better?" the blonde asked, folding his arms.

"Nonsense. I'll help you walk."

"I don't need help walking, I've been doing that since I was a year old." He pulled his sock back on, then his boot – somewhat painfully – before rolling down his pant leg and trying to stand.

Roy sighed at his stubbornness, and stood to help the Elric up. "You're an idiot, Fullmetal."

"You don't have to call me that. We're on vacation, remember?" He smirked as he turned and began limping in the direction he'd begun going.

The Flame watched him go for a few moments, watching him struggle and move forward despite the pain. That's what Ed had always done, and that's what Roy had always done. That's what everyone he admired had always done. He sighed, then caught up to Ed and slung the boy's arm over his shoulder.

"I told you I don't need help." Despite this statement, the blonde leaned heavily against Roy.

"Shut up, Edward. You can be too stubborn for your own good sometimes."

Ed contemplated this for a few moments as they moved slowly through the trees. "... Yeah, I guess you're right... Roy."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Sorry for the long wait, play has kept me pretty busy lately. Excuses aside, here you go!

--

"Ah!" Edward jerked his leg away from Roy's hands as pain shot up from his ankle. "Careful, that hurts!"

"I'm being as careful as I can, Edward. It's your own fault that I'm having to do this in the first place," Roy pointed out.

"No it isn't, that root snuck up on me," the blond insisted, folding his arms as he unfolded his leg for the third time, ready to move away if he was hurt again.

"Yeah, yeah..." Roy mumbled, being even more gentle this time as he attempted to bandage Edward's ankle.

It was silent for a few moments as the Colonel worked, wrapping a bandage around his subordinate's ankle. Edward stared up at the leaves that provided shelter for their small campsites, comprised of no more than a two-person tent and a fire pit. "Roy, why didn't you sleep in the tent last night?" he asked, remembering he'd woken up alone that morning.

"You were dead asleep, I didn't want to bother you. And I didn't think you'd be happy waking up to find me next to you," Roy explained. He didn't look at Edward, and hid his face behind his dark hair as he bent over his work. He was frowning deeply, expecting a depressing reply from the boy whose ankle he held.

"I wouldn't have minded that much," Ed assured him, shrugging nonchalantly, "I'm too used to sleeping with Al, sleeping alone's weird for me now."

Roy tied the bandage off, and Edward winced as it tightened around his injured ankle. "Well," Roy said, "I guess that means I'll be joining you in the tent tonight."

Edward nearly blushed at the possible second meaning of that. He managed to keep the heat from his face as he carefully pulled his boot on over the new bandage. "Fair enough," he said.

An awkward silence settled between the two alchemists, pierced only by birdsong.

"I should teach you how to fish."

"What? Fish?" Ed asked, startled by the sudden statement.

Roy nodded. "It's not that hard, and maybe it'll teach you some patience."

He pouted at the last part, mumbling something about some frustrating old man. After a moment of this, he spoke up. "Fine. Give me a rod and show me the river."

--

"This is so damn boring."

Roy had led the boy to a river a few minutes' walk from their campsite. He shoved a rod in his hand, showed him how to bait and cast, and then they sat there. It had barely been ten minutes and Ed was finally complaining.

"You have no patience," Roy said, giving Edward a smirk.

"I do too, I waited this long to say something, didn't I?" he said.

"And you also have no sense of time."

Ed stuck his tongue out at the man before turning to stare at the water, which he swore was empty. There were no fish down there...

There was a splash, and something slimy bumped Ed's arm. He made a face of disgust as he realized it was a fish, stuck on the hook of Roy's line.

"Got one," he said, smirking in triumph. He took the fish off of the hook and held it out for Ed to see.

Using his automail arm, the blond shoved Roy, who then fell into the river with a large splash, which got Ed soaked. Ed ignored the moisture and turned back to his fishing.

The river was shallow, so Roy was able to sit up and glare at the boy, who didn't seem to notice or care about the action. "You made me lose dinner," he said flatly.

"I don't like fish anyways," Ed reasoned. All of the sudden, he felt a tug on his line. "Ah!" he cried.

Roy rushed out of the water to help him, his hands moving Edward's as he guided the boy in reeling in the fish. Ed stumbled at the final tug, knocking both himself and Roy backwards and ending up on top of the soaking man. The fish landed on his stomach.

"... Well, we've got dinner," Roy said.

Ed knocked the fish from his stomach to the ground beside him, not liking the feeling of the creature wiggling on his stomach. "I'll starve, thanks," he mumbled as he attempted to roll off the man beneath him. The stickiness of their wet clothes made it hard and very awkward for the young man, who made it to the ground with a bright red face.

To his surprise, Roy was blushing, too. "I guess that's enough adventure for today..." he mumbled as he stood. He held out a hand to help Edward up, which the blond took.

"I guess we should get some dry clothes on, huh?" Ed asked, trying his best not to stumble over his words as he stumbled over his feet. He managed to keep himself from knocking Roy over a second time. He quickly let go of the older man's hand and avoided his eyes.

"Go ahead of me back to camp, I'll pick everything up and you'll have time to change."

Ed nodded, turning and starting the trek back to camp without another word.

Roy sighed, looking over his soaking self. He rolled up his wet sleeves and picked up the fishing rods. The fish had disappeared, but that didn't really matter. He could get something else for dinner. He watched the river for a moment, giving Edward just a little more time with himself before he turned to head back to camp after him.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** ... I guess there's no excuse I can give to make up for the long time it's been since I updated. So just read the chapter and pleeeeaaaase don't hurt me!

--

"... Hey, Roy?"

"Hm?" The man couldn't form any real words around the rabbit meat in his mouth, the meat that was their dinner. He looked across the small fire at the teenage boy across from him, whose eyes were trained on the sky.

"Those clouds don't look too happy."

Roy looked up. Edward was right, the clouds didn't look happy at all. He hadn't noticed how dark it had gotten while he was changing into dry clothes and then cooking their dinner for the night. He shrugged and swallowed the food in his mouth. "Just some rain," he said, "No big deal."

"... Won't we get wet?" the blond asked, glancing at their tent.

The Colonel shook his head. "No, it's waterproof," he assured him. He ate the last bite of his meat, and watched as the other male ate his, eyes on the sky once more. Roy stood and stretched, stiff from sitting by the fire for so long. "How's your ankle?" he asked, changing the subject.

Edward moved his flesh foot a little, and shrugged slightly. "It's okay. Doesn't hurt as much anymore."

"Good to hear." The raven-haired man reached across the fire and patted Ed's head lightly. "I'm gonna get some more firewood," he added, gesturing to the slowly shrinking flames. He waved as he turned to walk into the trees.

Ed stared after him, feeling much like a dog after that last touch.

--

"Just some rain, my ass!"

Roy groaned slightly as he woke to his shoulder being shaken roughly. It took him a few moments to register the sound of heavy rain hitting the tent above him, and then he was startled when a flash of lightning lit the sky. He sat bolt upright and looked outside. "Not good," he muttered, then hearing a clap of thunder. The storm was pretty close.

"What if a tree falls on us? What if our tent catches on fire? What if they never find our bodies?"

Roy turned and looked at the frantic boy beside him. His golden eyes were darting around the scenery outside, full of fear. "Calm down, Edward, the chances of any of that are slim."

"But there's still the chance!" Ed insisted, his voice beginning to crack. He jumped at a flash of lightning, and huddled into his sleeping bag, covering his head as well as his body. Muffled curses could be heard from beneath the cover.

Roy sighed gently, counting the second until the clap of thunder. Four. Four miles between them and the storm. The wind was blowing into the side of their tent. Had the storm already passed over them or was it on its way there? Another flash of lightning, and Roy counted again. Just under four seconds this time.

The storm was getting closer.

Black eyes looked to the lump inside the sleeping bag beside him. He climbed out of his own covers, shifting over to sit right next to Edward. He stared at the lump for a moment, trying to determine what was where. He eventually laid his hand on what he assumed was the boy's arm, and felt hard metal beneath. The lump jumped slightly at the sudden touch, and a golden head peered out from under the covers.

"You scared the shit out of me," Ed stated, glaring at his superior with murderous intent.

"Even more so than the storm?" the Colonel asked lightly, smirking.

The Elric thought a moment about that one, and eventually – very slightly – shook his head, the glare leaving his eyes and leaving only the slightest tinge of fear.

Roy couldn't help but chuckle softly at the sudden change in expression, and his smirk softened.

Edward could barely mange to hold back a smile, but he didn't have to for long. A sudden flash of lightning scared him out of his sleeping bag and into Roy's lap. He hid his face in the man's chest and clung to his shirt like it was the only thing keeping him alive.

Roy blushed bright red at the sudden situation, but when thunder clapped and Ed whimpered, he wrapped his large arms around the boy as comfortingly as he could.

They sat like that, holding onto each other, for nearly an hour as the storm passed over them. A tree across the clearing broke, falling into the forest with a loud crash. Rain was blown into the tent by the heavy winds. Edward held on so tightly that Roy was having trouble breathing. But neither of them let go until Roy had counted ten seconds between lightning and thunder.

"... It's gone, Edward," he said softly into the boy's ear, "The storm's gone."

The Elric was still for a few moments except for his slowly relaxing grip. When he finally pulled away enough to look outside, he made sure Roy wouldn't see his face, which was now bright red because of their close position. As soon as he was convinced the storm was far enough away, he rolled off of Roy's lap and buried himself in his sleeping bag, covering his blazing face along with his body.

Roy watched all this happen with the most neutral face he could manage. Once he was sure Edward wasn't going to pop back out for some retort or something of the like, he let a smile creep onto his face. How cute Fullmetal could be when he was embarrassed.

The Colonel didn't have to wait too long for the younger alchemist to fall asleep. He reached over and pulled back the covers enough that he could see the blond's face, peaceful now that he was oblivious to the world.

Roy hesitated for a short moment, then leaned down and kissed the boy on the cheek. "Sleep well, Edward," he whispered, then turned and climbed into his own sleeping bag. He fell asleep quickly, a small smile on his face.


	7. Chapter 7

"Mm... Fish..."

The smell filled Roy's nostrils, causing a small smile to come to his face. His eyes had yet to open since he'd woken just half a moment before. He was too busy savoring the smell of fish cooking over the campfire, one of his favorite smells...

But wait... Who was cooking?"

Roy's eyes snapped open, and he rolled over to find Edward's sleeping bag empty and cold. Apparently, the younger alchemist had been up for a while.

The Colonel climbed out of the tent, finding the blond crouching over the campfire, over which he was turning two fairly sized fish. Upon seeing him, Ed grinned. "Morning, Roy. Hungry?"

"Morning. Um, yeah," he replied, sitting on the ground he had forgotten was soaked from the previous night's storm. "Where'd you get the fish?"

"I went fishing this morning," the Elric explained, shrugging as though it were nothing, though he'd complained about it so much just the previous day. "It's our last day out here, isn't it? I wanted something different to eat."

Roy watched silently as Ed finished cooking the fish, and took the one offered to him and inspected it. Not too bad, only a bit charred. He took a bite. Still pretty edible. "Why'd you do this?" the Colonel asked.

"Do what?" Ed responded around a mouthful of fish, definitely oblivious.

"Go fishing and make breakfast. You were quite content yesterday to not do anything, weren't you?"

The blond shrugged, chewing a bit before swallowing and then talking. "I... I kinda wanted to thank you for..." he thought a moment, choosing his words carefully, "helping me last night." He looked away, letting his bangs drop over his face and hide his blush.

Roy stared at him for a moment, not quite realizing what he meant at first. As he realized it, he smirked softly. "Oh, that?" He moved himself and his breakfast over to wear Ed crouched. "I'd expect you to want to kill me after putting you through such an embarrassing situation."

Ed's face grew more flushed, but otherwise, he didn't respond.

The Colonel didn't say anything more, taking a bite from his fish as he waited for his subordinate to do something.

After a few minutes of the slightly awkward silence, Ed cleared his throat. "Um, Roy...?"

"Hm?" The black-haired man looked at the source of the voice.

The blond turned and caught Roy off guard with a kiss on the cheek.

Black eyes blinked in surprise as they stared at Ed's bright red face. After a moment, though, he leaned in and planted a soft kiss on the boy's lips.

This is when the Elric grew too embarrassed. He pulled away after just a short moment, scooting a bit further from his superior to finish eating his breakfast.

Roy could only chuckle at the boy's behavior, smirking as he ate his own food.

--

"Do we have everything?" Roy asked, tying up his pack tightly. He glanced around the campsite. The fire was out, there weren't any belongings around.

"Yeah, I think that's it," Edward said, glancing around himself.

Neither man had spoken much since the exchange made during breakfast, but that just made it easier to get the site picked up and ready to go before it got too late. They still had the trek back to the car to look forward to, and they began it quickly.

The trudged through the forest in silence for a little while before Ed spoke up. "Roy?"

"Hm?"

"... Can we do this again sometime?" he asked, "Just you and me again?"

The Colonel stopped and looked back at the alchemist behind him, noticing the light pink tinge of the boy's cheeks. He smiled and patted the head of blond hair. "Sure."

Ed's face suddenly flushed with anger and he scowled and swatted Roy's hand away. "Hey, don't pat me on the head like I'm some kid!"

Roy laughed, leaning down just enough to kiss him on the forehead. "Show me that you can be a man and I won't."

He could practically hear the steam shooting from Edward's ears as he turned and started walking again. "C'mon, we gotta get to the car soon or we'll get back too late!"

The rest of the trek was spent trading insults like they usually did back home. Every so often, Roy would have to help Ed because of his still-pained ankle, but they made fairly good time and soon reached the Colonel's waiting car. Everything was packed in and they had the car started quickly.

Before pulling out onto the road, though, Roy turned to Ed. "Hey..."

"Hm?" Gold eyes met black.

"You didn't mind that kiss earlier too much, did you?" he asked carefully, not wanting to embarrass the boy too much.

Ed's cheeks turned a bit pink, but he shook his head. "No, not really. I... Kind of liked it."

"Well, in that case..." Roy leaned over, wrapping his arms around Ed and pulling him close enough for a much deeper kiss than the first one.

Ed blushed profusely, but returned the kiss just as eagerly as Roy had started it.

--

"Brother, brother, you're home!" The suit of armor walked out of the headquarters with Riza Hawkeye, holding in his excitement at his brother's return just enough that he wasn't running to meet them at the car.

"Yeah, I am," Ed said, pulling his suitcase out of the backseat and jumping out of the car. He shut the door behind him, then ran over to his younger brother.

"So did you have fun?" Al asked.

Ed glanced at his superior, who seemed busy filling in Riza with the details of the trip. He smirked softly as he turned back to Al, and he nodded. "Yeah, it was all right."

"Oh, Edward, are you leaving?" Roy asked, walking over to the brothers.

Al seemed confused at the fact that Roy wasn't referring to his brother as Fullmetal, but didn't interrupt, hoping it would be explained in a moment.

"Yeah, I was planning on it," the elder Elric boy said. His eyes shifted to his brother and then to Roy.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then." The black-haired man leaned down and placed the lightest of kisses on Edward's lips. He waved as he returned to Riza.

Ed was blushing madly, but managed to say a quick goodbye before turning to head toward his and Al's dorm.

"Brother's blushing, brother's blushing!" Al taunted quietly.

"Shut up!"

--

**AN:** And there's the end! Sorry, no lemon. I suck at lemon... Maybe in the next fic, which I need ideas for, by the way. That's your cue to send those ideas in! See you all next time.


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